Tooling prepreg HexTOOL® M61

carbon fiberepoxy

HexTool® composite tooling material combines tolerance accuracy with extreme lightness. HexTool® is Hexcel’s new patented composite tooling material that, for the first time, enables the tolerance accuracy achieved with metals to be combined with the extreme lightness of carbon fiber composites. HexTool® molds are easy to repair and are simple to modify. This new concept for lightweight, efficient large-scale tools is cost-effective compared with conventional composite tools and metal molds, especially those made from Invar®. Since the launch of HexTool®, several leading tooling engineers have used the material confirming the benefits of the technology. They have noted that dimensional stability is maintained, at tolerances very close to those achieved with metal tooling and that vacuum integrity is assured, even in heavily machined areas. Long tool life, ease of use, and the machinability of cured structures are some of the primary reasons HexTool® is being chosen for the tooling for parts on new generation aircraft worldwideHexTool® M61 Tooling Compound comprises randomly layered strips of uni-directional prepreg that have been consolidated into continuous rolled goods. HexTool® M61 has proved to be dimensionally stable with the ability to hold vacuum integrity before and after machining - and after more than 500 part cure cycles. Fabricated from Hexcel’s BMI resin, HexPly® M61, HexTool® M61 tools are ideally suited for curing carbon fiber/epoxy parts at 350°F/180°C. HexTool® tools are lighter and more energy efficient than those made from steel or Invar®. They are also cost-competitive - and provide a tighter mold tolerance - than standard composites.